SuggeFrankenstein: A Modern Prometheus
by Mary Shelley
"Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay
To mould me Man, did I solicit thee
From darkness to promote me?"
These lines appear on the title page of Shelley's novel and come from John Milton’s Paradise Lost, when Adam bemoans his fallen condition (Book X, 743–745)
Full searchable text: Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (PDF)
Required Reading & Downloads Introductory Material
Introduction to Mary Shelley and Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus (PDF)
AP Guiding Questions Frankenstein:
Choose a novel or play in which a minor character serves as a foil to a main character. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the relation between the minor character and the major character illuminates the meaning of the work.
Many writers use a country setting to establish values within a work of literature. For example, the country may be a place of virtue and peace or one of primitivism and ignorance. Choose a novel or play in which such a setting plays a significant role. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the country setting functions in the work as a whole. Do not summarize the plot.
Select a novel or play in which a tragic figure functions as an instrument of the suffering of others. Then write an essay in which you explain how the suffering brought upon others by that figure contributes to the tragic vision of the work as a whole.
Many works of literature not readily identified with the mystery or detective story genre nonetheless involve the investigation of a mystery. In these works, the solution to the mystery may be less important than the knowledge gained in the process of its investigation. Choose a novel or play in which one or more characters confront a mystery. Then write an essay in which you identify the mystery and explain how the investigation illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.
Suggested Themes
Related Articles, Poems, and Short Stories
"Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (PDF)
“Prometheus Unbound” – Percy Shelley (PDF)
“Prometheus” from Greek Mythology (Theoi)
“The Body Snatcher” by Robert Louis Stevenson (PDF)
Excerpt from Paradise Lost by John Milton (PDF)
Romantic Literature
Gothicism
Reading Comprehension Discussion Questions for Frankenstein: A Modern Prometheus
How To...
How to Write a Passage Analysis of Prose (PDF)
Additional Resources
Pre-Victorian Web: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (Brown)
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Page (Brandeis)
Mary Shelley: My Hidden Progeny
Mary Shelley Resources Mary W. Shelley Web
The Norton Anthology to Literature - Romanticism
Key Quotes from Frankenstein: A Modern Prometheus
by Mary Shelley
"Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay
To mould me Man, did I solicit thee
From darkness to promote me?"
These lines appear on the title page of Shelley's novel and come from John Milton’s Paradise Lost, when Adam bemoans his fallen condition (Book X, 743–745)
Full searchable text: Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (PDF)
Required Reading & Downloads Introductory Material
Introduction to Mary Shelley and Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus (PDF)
AP Guiding Questions Frankenstein:
Choose a novel or play in which a minor character serves as a foil to a main character. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the relation between the minor character and the major character illuminates the meaning of the work.
Many writers use a country setting to establish values within a work of literature. For example, the country may be a place of virtue and peace or one of primitivism and ignorance. Choose a novel or play in which such a setting plays a significant role. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the country setting functions in the work as a whole. Do not summarize the plot.
Select a novel or play in which a tragic figure functions as an instrument of the suffering of others. Then write an essay in which you explain how the suffering brought upon others by that figure contributes to the tragic vision of the work as a whole.
Many works of literature not readily identified with the mystery or detective story genre nonetheless involve the investigation of a mystery. In these works, the solution to the mystery may be less important than the knowledge gained in the process of its investigation. Choose a novel or play in which one or more characters confront a mystery. Then write an essay in which you identify the mystery and explain how the investigation illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.
Suggested Themes
Related Articles, Poems, and Short Stories
"Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (PDF)
“Prometheus Unbound” – Percy Shelley (PDF)
“Prometheus” from Greek Mythology (Theoi)
“The Body Snatcher” by Robert Louis Stevenson (PDF)
Excerpt from Paradise Lost by John Milton (PDF)
Romantic Literature
Gothicism
Reading Comprehension Discussion Questions for Frankenstein: A Modern Prometheus
How To...
How to Write a Passage Analysis of Prose (PDF)
Additional Resources
Pre-Victorian Web: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (Brown)
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Page (Brandeis)
Mary Shelley: My Hidden Progeny
Mary Shelley Resources Mary W. Shelley Web
The Norton Anthology to Literature - Romanticism
Key Quotes from Frankenstein: A Modern Prometheus